Noncontiguous Shipping Competition Act

Noncontiguous Shipping Competition Act

This bill revises coastwise laws, commonly known as the Jones Act, that govern domestic transportation of merchandise or passengers by vessels.

The Jones Act generally requires that a vessel transporting merchandise or passengers from one U.S. point to another U.S. point be (1) built in the United States, (2) at least 75% owned by U.S. citizens, and (3) mostly crewed by U.S. citizens. The act also includes several exemptions and exceptions.

The bill exempts carriage on a route in noncontiguous trade from Jones Act requirements unless (1) at least three owners or operators of coastwise qualified vessels regularly operate such a vessel on the route, (2) each of such owners or operators transports at least 20% of the volume of goods on that route, and (3) none of such owners or operators are under common ownership. (Generally, noncontiguous trade is trade between two U.S. points where at least one of the points is in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or an insular territory or U.S. possession.)

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2586 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2586

To amend title 46, United States Code, to exempt certain noncontiguous 
                     trade from the coastwise laws.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2023

 Mr. Case (for himself and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to exempt certain noncontiguous 
                     trade from the coastwise laws.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Noncontiguous Shipping Competition 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SHIPPING: EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN NONCONTIGUOUS TRADE FROM THE 
              COASTWISE LAWS.

    Section 55101(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) carriage on a route in noncontiguous trade (as that 
        term is defined in section 53501), unless--
                    ``(A) at least three owners or operators of 
                coastwise qualified vessels (as that term is defined in 
                section 55108(a)) regularly operate such a vessel on 
                such route;
                    ``(B) each of such owners or operators transports 
                at least 20 percent of the volume of goods on that 
                route; and
                    ``(C) none of such owners or operators are under 
                common ownership.''.
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